Bob Woodward: I'm so neutral my young daughter votes on my behalf

Author Bob Woodward appeared on C-Span Friday morning, and during the call-in period a viewer asked him a simple question: “Are you a Democrat or Republican?” Wood answered that he is a registered Democrat “because I live in the District of Columbia, which is so predominantly Democratic.” By that, Woodward presumably meant that being registered as a Democrat allows him to vote in elections like the recent mayoral primary, in which the primary winner is assured of becoming the mayor. Woodward then went on to say that, even though he is a registered Democrat, he doesn't actually decide for whom he votes. He explained that he takes his young daughter (she's now 14) with him into the voting booth and she decides for whom he will vote and then actually casts the vote. Woodward and his daughter have been doing that, he continued, since the girl was four years old.

Here is the entire exchange:

Are you a Democrat or a Republican?

A fair and good question because I live in the District of Columbia which is so predominately Democratic, I am a registered Democrat but I am an avowed neutral and to put that into practice, I take my young daughter into the voting booth and she votes for me. She's now 14 and we've been doing this since she was about age four. She's now quite informed and they let you bring a child with you into the voting booth, and she actually makes the selections.

If you want to watch the answer on C-Span's video, check here. The question begins at 27:35 into the video.

The viewer also wanted to know whether Woodward voted for Richard Nixon in 1968, when Woodward was 25 and didn't have a young daughter to vote for him. Woodward didn't answer that question.